History Main / CaptainEthnic

* In ''Comicbook/GhostRider'', it's revealed that every country has its own Rider, and each is tied heavily to local folklore and legend. The British rider is based on Spring-Heeled Jack, the Rider stalking Frankfurt for evil to punish is "shock-headed", the Rider protecting the shores of New Zealand is a Maori warrior, the Japanese rider is a bosozoku gang member with an oni motif, with even the American riders throughout the ages seem to encompass little more than era-specific tough guy stereotypes, including a vengeful Native American rider in the early 1800s, an entire Ghost Rider tank crew in WWII, trucker Devil Rig and muscle car enthusiast Hell Driver in the 70s, the hard-drinking Southern badass Penance Fist in the 80s, etc. Let's face it, considering how {{Badass}} pretty much all of the above are, it might be an example of how to do it ''[[TropesAreTools right]]''.

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* In ''Comicbook/GhostRider'', it's revealed that every country has its own Rider, and each is tied heavily to local folklore and legend. The British rider is based on Spring-Heeled Jack, the Rider stalking Frankfurt for evil to punish is "shock-headed", the Rider protecting the shores of New Zealand is a Maori warrior, the Japanese rider is a bosozoku gang member with an oni motif, with even the American riders throughout the ages seem to encompass little more than era-specific tough guy stereotypes, including a vengeful Native American rider in the early 1800s, an entire Ghost Rider tank crew in WWII, trucker Devil Rig and muscle car enthusiast Hell Driver in the 70s, the hard-drinking Southern badass Penance Fist in the 80s, etc. Let's face it, considering how {{Badass}} badass pretty much all of the above are, it might be an example of how to do it ''[[TropesAreTools right]]''.

* Finlay may be one of the worst just because of the mish-mash of stereotypes that goes into him; he's a tough, {{Badass}} Irish brawler ''who clubs people with a shillelagh and hangs out with a leprechaun''. The Leprechaun was an [[InvokedTrope intentional]] [[TheScrappy Scrappy]] that [[GoneHorriblyWrong backfired]]. Finlay (as a heel) was more popular than most {{face}}s, so he was given "[[Wrestling/{{Hornswoggle}} The Little Bastard]]" to hang around with, hoping it would derail his popularity. [[SpringTimeForHitler It failed]].

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* Finlay may be one of the worst just because of the mish-mash of stereotypes that goes into him; he's a tough, {{Badass}} tough Irish brawler ''who clubs people with a shillelagh and hangs out with a leprechaun''. The Leprechaun was an [[InvokedTrope intentional]] [[TheScrappy Scrappy]] that [[GoneHorriblyWrong backfired]]. Finlay (as a heel) was more popular than most {{face}}s, so he was given "[[Wrestling/{{Hornswoggle}} The Little Bastard]]" to hang around with, hoping it would derail his popularity. [[SpringTimeForHitler It failed]].

** [[http://marvel.wikia.com/Gabriel_Sepulveda_%28Earth-616%29 Defensor,]] a conquistador-styled hero from Argentina, was plainly the result of writers [[TheyJustDidntCare not even trying]].

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** [[http://marvel.wikia.com/Gabriel_Sepulveda_%28Earth-616%29 Defensor,]] Defensor]], a conquistador-styled hero from Argentina, was plainly the result of writers [[TheyJustDidntCare not even trying]]. Argentina.

* In a Comicbook/CivilWar issue of ''Comicbook/FantasticFour'' we encountered [[http://marvel.wikia.com/Les_Heroes_de_Paris_(Earth-616) Les Heroes de Paris]]. Who went a different route: They were all thinly-veiled {{exp|y}}ies of the JusticeLeagueOfAmerica. Only... Well, French.. Including ''Adamantine'' (French Superman dressed in the Tricolore), ''Le Comte Nuit'' (a non-bat Batman), ''La Lumiere Bleu'' (Green Lantern, only blue) ''Le Phantome'' ("Who haunts the Louvre at night"), ''Le Cowboy'' (Guess), ''Le Docteur Q'' (Lex Luthor in his modern-era armorsuit), ''Anais'' (the Halle Berry-version of Catwoman crossed with Vixen), and ''Le Vent'' (The original concept of Golden Age Flash as a magic-based speedster)

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* In a Comicbook/CivilWar issue of ''Comicbook/FantasticFour'' we encountered [[http://marvel.wikia.com/Les_Heroes_de_Paris_(Earth-616) Les Heroes de Paris]]. Who went a different route: They were all thinly-veiled {{exp|y}}ies of the JusticeLeagueOfAmerica. Only... Well, French.. Including ''Adamantine'' (French Superman dressed in the Tricolore), ''Le Comte Nuit'' (a non-bat Batman), ''La Lumiere Bleu'' (Green Lantern, only blue) ''Le Phantome'' ("Who haunts the Louvre at night"), night"- Looks like the Question, with smoke for the face instead of a blank mask), ''Le Cowboy'' (Guess), ''Le Docteur Q'' (Lex Luthor in his modern-era armorsuit), ''Anais'' (the Halle Berry-version of Catwoman crossed with Vixen), and ''Le Vent'' (The original concept of Golden Age Flash as a magic-based speedster)

* Mocked in ''DanVS'' when the titular character buys a comic book starring "Sergeant Saskatchewan": a character with no dark past, no inner rage, no ''enemies'', "politeness" for a superpower, and ''"so many maple leaves"''. [[CriticalResearchFailure They gave him an American sergeant emblem, though]].

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* Mocked in ''DanVS'' ''WesternAnimation/DanVS'' when the titular character buys a comic book starring "Sergeant Saskatchewan": a character with no dark past, no inner rage, no ''enemies'', "politeness" for a superpower, and ''"so many maple leaves"''. [[CriticalResearchFailure They gave him an American sergeant emblem, though]].

** On the heroic side, we have El Diablo, who is Mexican and has the name El Diablo... And Tricolour, who is a French fencer who wears the tricolour on her costume... And Quetzaloquatl, a Latin-American version of Captain Marvel... The Green Genie is middle-eastern and, you guessed it, has genie magic and a flying carpet... Let's just say that ''Freedom Force'' has a *lot* of these on both sides and it's played about as seriously as the rest of the cast, which is to say not at all.

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** On the heroic side, we have El Diablo, who is Mexican and has the name El Diablo...Diablo and a fiery personality... And Tricolour, who is a French fencer who wears the tricolour on her costume... And Quetzaloquatl, a Latin-American version of Captain Marvel... The Green Genie is middle-eastern and, you guessed it, has genie magic and a flying carpet... Let's just say that ''Freedom Force'' has a *lot* of these on both sides and it's played about as seriously as the rest of the cast, which is to say not at all.

Essentially, a Captain Ethnic is a minority SuperHero of a different ethnicity or nationality of whose powers and heroic identity are tied in an incredibly unsubtle, and often stereotypical, manner to their ethnicity or country of origin. They're usually created as a TokenMinority to fend off criticism, though sometimes they're the product of creators who really want to say something about the issue at hand, and are handicapped only by the fact that they're [[CluelessAesop entirely clueless]] about it.

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Essentially, a Captain Ethnic is a minority SuperHero of a different ethnicity or nationality of whose powers and heroic identity are tied in an incredibly unsubtle, and often stereotypical, manner to their ethnicity or country of origin. They're usually created as a TokenMinority to fend off criticism, though sometimes they're the product of creators who really want to say something about the issue at hand, and are handicapped only by the fact that they're [[CluelessAesop entirely clueless]] about it.

Captain Ethnic is a bit patronizing nowadays, but you have to admit, he beats hell out of the EthnicScrappy. Despite that characters from around the world are usually done wrong, they ''can'' be done right -- usually by [[ShownTheirWork doing the research]] on local culture and creating a character that's likeable and cool in their own right. This is sadly rare. If a Captain Ethnic is done well, he might end up with [[MexicansLoveSpeedyGonzales fans in the ethnic group that he comes from]].

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Captain Ethnic is a bit patronizing nowadays, but you have to admit, he beats the hell out of the EthnicScrappy. Despite that characters from around the world are usually done wrong, they ''can'' be done right -- usually by [[ShownTheirWork doing the research]] on local culture and creating a character that's likeable and cool in their own right. This is sadly rare. If a Captain Ethnic is done well, he might end up with [[MexicansLoveSpeedyGonzales fans in the ethnic group that he comes from]].

*** At one point, {{Taskmaster}} ran into Batroc and the Tarantula's daughters, using their respective father's gimmicks. Tasky soundly thrashed the villainesses, stating "I hate ethnic stereotypes". (He also expresses surprise that Batroc and Tarantula are heterosexual.)

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*** At one point, {{Taskmaster}} ComicBook/{{Taskmaster}} ran into Batroc and the Tarantula's daughters, using their respective father's gimmicks. Tasky soundly thrashed the villainesses, stating "I hate ethnic stereotypes". (He also expresses surprise that Batroc and Tarantula are heterosexual.)

* Mocked in DanVS when the titular character buys a comic book starring "Sergeant Saskatchewan": a character with no dark past, no inner rage, no ''enemies'', "politeness" for a superpower, and ''"so many maple leaves"''. [[CriticalResearchFailure They gave him an American sergeant emblem, though]].

to:

* Mocked in DanVS ''DanVS'' when the titular character buys a comic book starring "Sergeant Saskatchewan": a character with no dark past, no inner rage, no ''enemies'', "politeness" for a superpower, and ''"so many maple leaves"''. [[CriticalResearchFailure They gave him an American sergeant emblem, though]].

** [[http://marvel.wikia.com/Gabriel_Sepulveda_%28Earth-616%29 Defensor]], a conquistador-styled hero from Argentina, was plainly the result of writers [[TheyJustDidntCare not even trying]].

to:

** [[http://marvel.wikia.com/Gabriel_Sepulveda_%28Earth-616%29 Defensor]], Defensor,]] a conquistador-styled hero from Argentina, was plainly the result of writers [[TheyJustDidntCare not even trying]].

* Most of the "all-new, all-different" ''Comicbook/{{X-Men}}'' are exceptions; though they come from all around the world, most have heroic identities unrelated to their country of origin. The big exceptions are the previously-established Banshee, an Irishman dressed in green and named after [[MakeMeWannaShout his screaming power]] (who had actually first appeared in the original series), Sunfire (who had also appeared before, as above), and Thunderbird, a Native American with an eagle/headdress theme; by the third issue, the latter two were gone. Sunfire quit because he didn't like the group (the feeling was mutual) and Thunderbird was killed off in a StupidSacrifice because his personality was so similar to {{Wolverine}} at the time that having both of them was deemed redundant.

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* Most of the "all-new, all-different" ''Comicbook/{{X-Men}}'' ''Comicbook/XMen'' are exceptions; though they come from all around the world, most have heroic identities unrelated to their country of origin. The big exceptions are the previously-established Banshee, an Irishman dressed in green and named after [[MakeMeWannaShout his screaming power]] (who had actually first appeared in the original series), Sunfire (who had also appeared before, as above), and Thunderbird, a Native American with an eagle/headdress theme; by the third issue, the latter two were gone. Sunfire quit because he didn't like the group (the feeling was mutual) and Thunderbird was killed off in a StupidSacrifice because his personality was so similar to {{Wolverine}} at the time that having both of them was deemed redundant.

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